INSTANT MBA: Get Comfortable With Those Awkward Silences

Today’s advice comes from Michael Hyatt, chairman of Thomas Nelson Publishers, via his blog on intentional leadership:“Get comfortable with “dead air.”Most people get uncomfortable when things get quiet. They feel the obligation to fill the space with chatter. You can let this work to your advantage by just keeping your lips locked and your ears open. When you do, you will often find that people volunteer amazing amounts of information that you would have never obtained any other way.”

It’s all about striking a right balance between knowing when to stay quiet and when to ask questions. Besides asking open-ended questions, asking follow up questions and getting both sides of the story, Hyatt says that a good leaders know how to utilise questions in their daily lives.

Furthermore, leaders should find out what assumptions they are dealing with in any given scenario, because if they don’t truly understand the assumptions, they may very likely make poor decisions.

“If you are going to be a successful leader, you are going to have to learn how to ask good questions.”

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